“It’s…complicated,” Hale said, knowing he’d have to reveal most of Karissa’s secret for any of his concerns to make any sense. He wasn’t too thrilled about doing that, even if they were his pack mates. He could only pray that she would forgive him.
His pack mates didn’t rush him. Instead, they sat there sipping coffee and waiting patiently, which helped him get his thoughts straight. Well, at least as straight as he could get them at the moment.
“Karissa is a Paladin,” he finally said. “That means she’s basically an avatar—a soldier—forAthena. That connection has her running around the world saving people. It’s more than what she does. It’s who she is now at her core. It’s an instinct that can’t be ignored.”
“You know, you wouldn’t be the only member of the SWAT Pack who has a mate with significant responsibilities,” Mike pointed out. “Alyssa’s work with STAT has her going all over the country to investigate supernatural creatures. Sometimes Zane goes with her, but most of the time he can’t. They still make it work.”
Hale sighed. He got what Mike was trying to say, but Zane and Alyssa’s situation was completely different than his and Karissa’s.
“Alyssa works for STAT,” Hale softly pointed out. “If she ever decides to quit, all she has to do is turn in her gun, sign about a hundred nondisclosure agreements, and the job is done. Karissa has a lifetime commitment to a Greek goddess. The Paladin duties don’t come with a retirement plan.”
“Well, being a werewolf doesn’t come with an opt-out date either,” Carter pointed out. “If Karissa can accept that as part of you, then you need to ask yourself if you can accept those things that are unique about her, including her Paladin duties. I know it probably won’t be easy, but coming from one of the two guys left in the Pack who doesn’t have a soul mate, trust me, it’s a small price to pay.”
“I know all of that,” Hale said, shoving his handthrough his hair in frustration. “But my biggest fear is that the soul mate bond won’t work for Karissa and me because of her Paladin bond with Athena. How can the bond between us take when she’s already bonded to another?”
On the other side of the table, Mike cursed. “What do you do, lie around all night and make up stuff to worry about? The bond has obviously already taken, or you wouldn’t be able to smell her. Especially considering your crap nose.”
Hale considered that. Maybe Mike was right, but still…
“What if it only goes in one direction?” Hale asked, finally saying out loud what had really been terrifying him all night and this morning. “What if I have a soul mate bond with her, but she can’t reciprocate? Because of this thing with Athena.”
“Dude, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Connor said. “Clearly she’s reciprocating already. Why else would she have slept with you? It’s not like you’re an amazing catch or anything.”
“Well, thanks for that,” Hale said drily. “I appreciate the unbiased assessment of the situation but forgive me if I need a little more evidence than one night together to convince me that Karissa has really accepted me asThe Onefor her.”
Mike leaned forward, pushing his empty mug aside and resting his arms on the table. “If you’re so worried about this, maybe you should talk to herabout the soul mate thing. Then you’ll know what’s going on instead of guessing.”
Hale drank some of his coffee. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
“Actually, it is, but you’re too damn stubborn to accept that,” Mike said. “So by all means, you keep being you. I have no doubt that this thing will come to a head one way or another. Then you can explain to Karissa why you kept it to yourself.”
Hale knew Mike was probably right, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that in front of the other guys.
Mike and Connor left a little while after that, saying something about getting back to the compound for a training exercise. Hale stayed behind with Carter so they could both finish their coffee, though that only took another couple of minutes.
“Is the meditation helping any?” Hale asked after they’d finished paying at the register. “You seem a little more chill than you were after the fight at the hunting preserve.”
Carter snorted as he pushed open the front door of the diner and led the way outside. “That’s only because I was a complete train wreck then. In comparison, anything seems better. But to answer your question, no, the meditation doesn’t seem to help anymore. I can feel my control slipping a little more each day.”
Hale opened his mouth to ask Carter what heplanned to try instead but closed it again when he realized that his pack mate had stopped in his tracks and was staring intently at the alley across the street from the diner. Two men stood there, both of them tall and fit, one blond and the other dark-haired. Hale didn’t notice anything out of place about either of them.
“What’s wrong?” Hale asked.
“I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something off about those two guys,” Carter said, gaze still locked on the men across the street. “My nose isn’t the best in the Pack, and it’s been getting worse lately thanks to these episodes I’ve been having, but they smell like werewolves. Just not like us.”
Hale had no idea what any of that stuff about his nose getting worse meant and didn’t have a chance to ask for clarification as Carter started across the street, dodging through the morning traffic as if it weren’t even there. Cursing, Hale followed, albeit more cautiously.
The two men took off running down the alley the moment he and Carter headed their way. A few feet behind Carter, Hale prayed his pack mate didn’t lose it again right there in the middle of the city as they gave chase.
Whoever these guys were, they moved fast—like unbelievably fast. Running full-out down the alley, he and Carter could still barely catch up to them. That more than anything else confirmed the fact they were dealing with some kind of supernaturals.
Hale still had no idea why the men were running—or why he and Carter were even chasing them—but as they darted across several more side streets and continued moving down the alley, he thought they were going to get those questions answered soon enough. Because he and Hale were close to catching them.
Then something happened.
And Hale nearly fell on his face.
One second, the two men were running ahead of them, the next they both leaped upward at the same time. And then there were two large gray wolves lightly touching down in their place.
